U.S. patent number 6,098,207 [Application Number 09/233,619] was granted by the patent office on 2000-08-08 for protective eyewear.
Invention is credited to Mayme L. Burtin.
United States Patent |
6,098,207 |
Burtin |
August 8, 2000 |
Protective eyewear
Abstract
Protective eyewear has a lens frame containing one or more
lenses and temple arms or straps for attaching the eyewear to the
head of a wearer. The protective eyewear also includes a brow
guard. The brow guard attaches to the lens frame. The brow guard is
configured to extend in one direction substantially between the
temple arms (or straps) and, in a transverse direction, between
spaced edges, one of which edges is disposed adjacent the lens
frame, the other of which edges is extended toward the brow of the
wearer. The brow guard incorporates a magnetic material for
attracting and catching magnetically attractable particles such
that the magnetic material assists eliminating the drift of such
particles down in the gap between the lens frame and the wearer's
brow. Magnetic side shields can be added to the protective eyewear
or substituted in place of the magnetic brow guard.
Inventors: |
Burtin; Mayme L. (Lebanon,
MO) |
Family
ID: |
22878014 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/233,619 |
Filed: |
January 19, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
2/431; 2/449;
351/158 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A61F
9/029 (20130101); A61F 9/027 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
A61F
9/02 (20060101); A61F 009/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;2/431,426,432,442,445,448,449,440,422,452 ;351/158 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Nerbun; Peter
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Bay; Jonathan A.
Parent Case Text
CROSS-REFERENCE TO PROVISIONAL APPLICATIONS(S)
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application
No. 60/071,982, filed Jan. 20, 1998.
Claims
I claim:
1. Protective eyewear comprising:
a lens frame containing one or more lenses and having an upper
frame member absent from which is any practical brow-ward shelf
providing shielding like a brow guard,
means for attaching the eyewear to the head of a wearer;
a replaceable, sheet-form magnetic flap for attaching to the lens
frames, the flap having upper and under sides and extending
laterally between opposite lateral edges and trans-laterally
between an outboard edge and an inboard edge, the under side having
an outboard margin for perching on and securing to the upper frame
member of the lens frame by virtue of the under side's outboard
margin being associated with releasable securing means for securing
the flap and upper frame member in an alignment such that the
flap's inboard edge is extended brow-ward to close up a gap between
the inboard edge and the wearer's brow, which thereby has the flap
cantilevered as a shielding shelf or brow guard, wherein the
magnetic flap incorporates a magnetic material for attracting and
catching magnetically attractable particles on the upper side for
thereby assisting elimination of the drift of such particles down
in said gap between the inboard edge and the wearer's brow; whereby
the releasable securing means facilitates replacement of the flap
with another if the upper side gets overloaded.
2. The protective eyewear of claim 1 further comprising a pair of
side shields for attaching to one or both of the lens frame and
attaching means;
the side shields having an outboard edge which is disposed adjacent
the lens frame, and extending toward a spaced away inboard edge
such that the side shields cover at least portions of the wearer's
temples;
wherein the side shields incorporate a magnetic material for
attracting and catching magnetically attractable particles such
that the magnetic material thereby assists eliminating the drift of
such particles across such gap defined between the side shields'
inboard edges and the wearer's temples.
3. The protective eyewear of claim 1 wherein the magnetic material
comprises sheet-form, flexible permanent magnet material.
4. The protective eyewear of claim 3 wherein the magnetic material
further comprises a layer of sheet-form malleable material mated to
the sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material, the malleable
material allowing shaping of the sheet-form flexible permanent
magnet material.
5. The protective eyewear of claim 3 wherein:
the lens frame upper frame member has a portion near its center
which defines a nose bridge portion;
the releasable securing means includes a resilient clip allowing
clip-on, frictional-gripping retention attachment and clip-off
detachment to and from such nose bridge portion of the lens
frame.
6. The protective eyewear of claim 1 wherein the attaching means
comprises one of strap(s) and temple arms.
7. The protective eyewear of claim 1 wherein the lens frame
comprises a pair of lens sockets for containing a pair of lenses of
shatterproof material, and the upper frame comprises a nose bridge
and flanking upper arc portions of the lens sockets.
8. A combination of safety spectacles and an auxiliary magnetic
brow guard comprising:
safety spectacles having a lens frame containing one or more lenses
and having temple arms for holding the spectacles to the head of a
wearer, the lens frame having an upper frame member absent from
which is any substantial brow-ward shelf providing shielding like a
brow guard;
a sheet-form auxiliary magnetic brow guard for attaching to the
safety spectacles, the brow guard having upper and under sides and
extending laterally substantially between the temple arms and
extending trans-laterally between spaced inboard and outboard
edges, the under side having an outboard margin for perching on and
securing to the upper frame member of the lens frame by virtue of
the under side's outboard margin being associated with releasable
securing means for securing the auxiliary brow guard and upper
frame member in an alignment such that the auxiliary brow guard's
inboard edge is extended brow-ward to close up a gap between the
inboard edge and the wearer's brow, which thereby has the auxiliary
brow guard cantilevered as a shielding shelf or actual brow
guard;
wherein the auxiliary brow guard incorporates a magnetic material
for attracting and catching magnetically attractable particles on
the upper side such that the magnetic material thereby assists
eliminating the drift of such particles down in said gap between
the inboard edge and the wearer's brow; whereby the releasable
securing means facilitates replacement of the auxiliary brow guard
with another if the upper side gets overloaded.
9. The combination of claim 8 wherein:
the lens frame upper frame member has a portion near its center
which defines a nose bridge portion;
the releasable securing means includes a resilient clip allowing
clip-on, frictional-gripping retention attachment and clip-off
detachment to and from such nose bridge portion.
10. The combination of claim 8 wherein the magnetic material
comprises sheet-form, flexible permanent magnet material.
11. The combination of claim 10 wherein the magnetic material
further comprises a layer of sheet-form malleable material mated to
the sheet-from flexible permanent magnet material, the malleable
material allowing shaping of the sheet-form flexible permanent
magnet material.
12. The combination of claim 8 further comprising a pair of side
shields for attaching to the spectacles;
the side shields having an outboard edge which is disposed adjacent
the lens frame, the side shields extending toward a spaced away
inboard edge such that the side shields cover at least portions of
the wearer's temples;
wherein the side shields incorporate a magnetic material for
attracting and catching magnetically attractable particles and to
thereby assist eliminating the drift of such particles across such
gap defined between the side shields' inboard edges and the
wearer's temples.
13. The protective eyewear of claim 1 wherein the releasable
securing means comprises an adhesive on the under side's outboard
margin which sticks to the upper frame member when originally
pressed upon.
14. The protective eyewear of claim 13 wherein release of the
adhesive is achieved, in order to replace the flap, by pulling the
flap and lens frame apart.
15. The protective eyewear of claim 13 wherein the sheet-form flap
comprises a thin scissorable material that permits sizing by simple
use of scissors, and the flap is provided oversized such that a
wearer can custom trim the inboard edge in order to get a more
closely closed up gap between the trimmed inboard edge and wearer's
brow.
16. The combination of claim 8 wherein the releasable securing
means comprises an adhesive on the under side's outboard margin
which sticks to the upper frame member when originally pressed
upon.
17. The combination of claim 16 wherein release of the adhesive is
achieved, in order to replace the auxiliary brow guard, by pulling
the auxiliary brow guard and lens frame apart.
18. The combination of claim 8 wherein the sheet-form auxiliary
brow-guard comprises a thin scissorable material that permits
sizing by simple use of scissors, and the auxiliary brow-guard is
provided oversized such that a wearer can custom trim the inboard
edge in order to get a more closely closed up gap between the
trimmed inboard edge and wearer's brow.
Description
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to protective eyewear for use in home or
industrial workshops and the like. In one of its versions, the
protective eyewear in accordance with the invention comprises
combining conventional safety spectacles--which are well known in
the prior art--with an auxiliary brow guard which attaches to the
frame of the conventional safety spectacles. One way of achieving
attachment may include providing the auxiliary brow guard with a
clip allowing clip-on attachment to the bridge of the spectacles.
The auxiliary brow guard incorporates a permanent magnet material.
The magnet material sets up a local magnetic field which attracts
iron grit or particles given off by grinders or like shop tools,
and pulls such iron particles onto the magnet material of the brow
guard to secure it there.
The invention can be adapted to include magnetized side-shields and
so on, for more fully surrounding the eyes with a magnetized
iron-particle catcher. As previously mentioned, in some versions of
the invention it has the format of a clip-on attachment allowing
quick attachment and detachment to and from the frames of
conventional prior art safety spectacles. In other versions of the
invention is has the format of being more permanently integrated
with the given frame(s) of the underlying safety spectacles.
Additional aspects and objects of the invention will be apparent in
connection with the discussion further below of preferred
embodiments and examples.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
There are shown in the drawings certain exemplary embodiments of
the invention as presently preferred. It should be understood that
the invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed as
examples, and is capable of variation within the scope of the
appended claims. In the drawings,
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of worker wearing a pair of protective
eyewear in accordance with the invention, wherein the worker is
depicted abrading a metal plate in a workshop to illustrate one
operative use environment for the protective eyewear;
FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the protective eyewear of
FIG. 1;
FIG. 3a is a perspective view of the inventive auxiliary brow guard
of the protective eyewear of FIG. 2, as shown in isolation, which
brow guard incorporates a flexible permanent magnet material;
FIG. 3b is a perspective view of the brow guard of FIG. 3a, which
is shown flexed;
FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of an alternate version of
protective eyewear in accordance with the invention, which is
provided with side shields incorporating a permanent magnet
material;
FIG. 5 is an elevational view of an edge of a composite material
from which to form brow guards and/or side guards for the
protective eyewear in accordance with the invention, wherein the
composite material comprises a layer of flexible permanent magnet
material bonded with a layer of a malleable material;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an auxiliary brow guard formed from
the composite material of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a perspective view comparable to FIG. 6 except showing
another variant of the auxiliary brow guard thereof;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view of still another version of the
auxiliary brow guard in which side shields are included as
well;
FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an alternate embodiment of FIG. 2,
in which the auxiliary brow guard is more permanently attached to
the frames of the underlying spectacles;
FIGS. 10a, 10b and 11 comprise a set of views showing in a
disassembled state one version of the auxiliary brow guard in
accordance with the invention, wherein:
FIG. 10a is a front perspective view of the clip in isolation,
FIG. 10b is a side view of the clip of FIG. 10a, and
FIG. 11 is a plan view of the flexible permanent magnet material
which is pinned or riveted to the clip of FIGS. 10a and 10b;
and
FIGS. 12a and 12b are a pair of views showing clip-on attachment of
the auxiliary brow guard of FIGS. 10a through 11, onto a given
frame of prior art safety spectacles, wherein;
FIG. 12a is perspective view thereof, and
FIG. 12b is an enlarged scale front elevational view thereof.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
FIG. 1 shows a grinding operation typical in either a home or
industrial workshop or job site environment. A worker 20 is shown
operating a grinder
22 and abrading an edge of a steel (or ferritic material) workpiece
24. The grinding operation throws out many particles 26 and 28. The
worker in FIG. 1 is wearing protective eyewear 10 in accordance
with the invention. The eyewear 10 provides an enhanced measure of
safety against eye injury from the particles.
In the drawing, the depiction of a grinding operation is shown to
illustrate one example operative use environment for the invention.
Other operative use environments include without limitation many
other like metal-removing or -pulverizing, or metal-dust or -grit
producing operations. These operations can take place in the home
or in an industrial shop or wherever, including outdoors in open
space job sites. Hence the depiction here of a grinding operation
is included for illustrative purposes only and accordingly does not
limit the invention just to grinding operations.
As shown by FIG. 2, the protective eyewear 10 in accordance with
the invention comprises a combination of safety spectacles 11 and
an auxiliary brow guard attachment 40. The safety spectacles 11 are
representative of conventional prior art safety spectacles. Such
safety spectacles (eg., 11) typically include a lens frame 14a for
containing one or more lenses 14b and two temple arms 12 flanking
the lens frame 14a for attaching the spectacles to the head of a
wearer. The temple arms 12 may or may not be hinged to the frames
14a.
As the term is used in this written description, "spectacles" shall
also include single lens spectacles 111 as shown by FIGS. 12a and
12b (including what are referred to in the industry as goggles,
see, eg., U.S. Pat. No. 5,069,541--Holmes et al. and/or U.S. Pat.
No. 5,455,639--Magdelaine et al.). These kinds of spectacles or
goggles 111 may have a relatively simple kind of lens frame 114a.
That is, the lens frame 114a may comprise not much more than
essentially an upper member or hanger support 116 (eg., compare to
upper member 16 in FIGS. 2 and 9). This upper member 114a allows a
singles lens 114b to be hung or suspended from it. Often times the
single lens variety of safety spectacles or goggles 111 eliminate
the temple arms 112 and attach to the head of the wearer more
simply by means of an elastic strap (not shown in the drawings
hereof). The invention can be used and incorporated with such
single lens and/or strap-type safety spectacles/goggles and hence
the invention is not limited merely to double lens and/or
temple-arm type safety spectacles. The lens material is usually
chosen from suitable shatterproof or impact resistant materials as
popular among commercially available off-the-shelf models,
including tempered glass or polycarbonate and the like.
FIG. 2 shows such spectacles 11 in which the lens frames 14a have a
pair of lens sockets for encircling and retaining the lenses 114b.
The lens sockets are joined by a nose bridge.
The foregoing aspects of the safety spectacles 11,111 of the
inventive protective eyewear 10 are--without more--conventional in
accordance with prior art safety spectacles. Generally, prior art
safety spectacles are furthermore popular because they can easily
include prescription lenses, they are reliably effective for
warding off flying particles, and they can be comfortable to wear
without sacrificing ventilation behind the frame/lens combination
14. Also, prior art safety spectacles are widely available, readily
obtainable, and affordable.
One inventive aspect of the protective eyewear 10 of FIG. 2 is the
following. The spectacles 11 have a brow guard 40 mated along an
upper member 16 of the frame 14a. This upper member 16, more
particularly, comprises the nose bridge as well as respective upper
arc portions of the lens sockets that flank the nose bridge. The
brow guard 40 incorporates a magnetic material 30. More preferably,
the magnetic material of the brow guard 40 substantially takes the
form of sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material. The
sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material is shaped into a
strip as shown. Sheetform flexible permanent magnet material is
available from such commercial sources as, including without
limitation, Magnetic Speciality, Inc., of Marietta, Ohio.
The quality of "rigidity" of sheet-form flexible permanent magnet
material varies with the thickness of the gauge of the sheet. Very
thin gauge sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material has
virtually no inherent rigidity against sagging or drooping. In
contrast, relatively thicker gauge sheet-form flexible permanent
magnet material has sufficient inherent stability such that if
supported cantilevered along one edge as shown in FIG. 2, it ought
to self-support is opposite free edge from sagging or drooping down
into an impractical position. However, the drooping or sagging
quality of thin gauge sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material
can offer some benefit. The brow guard 40 can effectively be formed
effectively as a soft flap (not shown in the drawings, in which the
brow guard 40 is depicted as a relatively rigid flap). That way, a
soft flap of a brow guard 40 could extend such that it rests
against the wearer's forehead (not shown). A soft flap of a brow
guard 40 could almost form a loose seal with the wearer's forehead.
The advantages that a seal would provide would weigh against the
disadvantages of cutting back on ventilation behind the lenses
14b.
FIGS. 3a and 3b show the magnetic brow guard 40 in a flat and
flexed formats, respectively.
The FIG. 3a brow guard 40 is shown relaxed in a generally flat
condition. The brow guard 40 includes a central clip 42 for
attachment to the nose-bridge 18 of the frame 14a. In some lens
frames (eg., see 114a in FIGS. 12a and 12b) the nose bridge portion
118 of the upper member 116 is not so much a distinct portion of
the upper member 116 but more generally just a portion of the
center of geometry of the upper member 116.
With reference back to FIG. 2, assembly of the brow guard 40 to the
frame 10 optionally comprises the assembly steps of:
(i) flexing the brow guard strip 40 in the double-arch eyebrow
shape shown (and, eg., as shown by FIG. 3b),
(ii) attaching the clip 42 to the frame nose-bridge 18, and then
perhaps
(iii) adhering the brow guard 40 to the upper member 16 of the
frame 14a with any suitable adhesive including rubber-based and/or
acrylic-based adhesives which are known in the art for applications
involving bonding to sheet-form flexible permanent magnets.
The FIG. 3b format of the brow guard 40 preferably can be formed or
shaped such that the brow guard 40 rigidly holds the double-arch
eyebrow shape as shown. It therefore can be attached and detached
to and from the safety spectacles 11 in the same fashion as clip-on
sunglasses. It is therefore preferred if the spectacle frame 14a is
made of a ferritic (eg., magnetically attractable) material. That
way, the magnetic attraction of the brow guard 40 to the upper
member 16 would assist the nose-bridge clip 42 in retaining the
brow guard 40 on the frame 14a.
Inventive aspects of the magnetic brow guard 40 will be more
apparent with renewed reference back to FIG. 1. The worker 20 is
grinding a metal workpiece 24 which also comprises at least some
fractional portion of magnetically attractable material in the
matrix of the workpiece material. The grinding operation is
scattering waste-product particles 26 and 28 in many directions.
One obvious safety hazard--an obvious one--includes the following.
Relatively large particles 26 are capable of ricochet right back at
the worker 20. The lenses 14b of the spectacles 11/eyewear 10
provide the obvious safeguard against the obvious hazard of such
reflected particles 26:--the lenses 14b are shatterproof or at
least impact resistant and simply deflect the ricochet particles
harmlessly away (this is not shown).
An alternative safety hazard--one which might not be as
obvious--includes the scattering of relatively minute grit
particles 28. Such minute grit particles 28 do not so much ricochet
as instead flutter and drift about in the air before eventually
settling out. It is an inventive aspect of the protective eyewear
10 that the magnetic brow guard 40 provides an alternative
safeguard against this alternative safety hazard.
It can be reckoned that, the spectacles 11 alone leave a gap
between the upper member 16 of the frame 14 and the brow of the
wearer. There is a risk that fluttering or drifting grit particles
28 can drift or float within the gap between the worker's brow and
the frame 14a. Thereafter the grit particles 28 might land in the
worker's eyes. When this happens, such grit particles 28 are likely
to be hot. Such grit particles 28 are therefore likely to provoke
violent discomfort if not injury. Hence the worker's eyes are at
risk of injury. Also, the worker 20 might self-inflict harm upon
him or herself with the grinder 22 (or whatever tool he or she may
be handling) if the worker should jerk too carelessly when such a
hot grit particle 28 lands in the eye.
In accordance with the invention, the magnetic brow guard 40
effectively filters out such magnetically attractable particles 28
that float through such sufficiently strong lines of magnetic force
as to be attracted to and held to the magnet material. Hence the
magnetic brow guard 40 pulls out the particles 28 that may try to
drift or circulate within the gap between the worker's eyes and the
lens frame 14a. Consequently the brow guard 40 provides safety
against such grit particles 28 as sized on such a small scale as
are likely to drift for a time before settling.
FIG. 4 shows a modification to and/or an alternate version of the
protective eyewear 10' of FIG. 2. The FIG. 4 eyewear 10' includes
side shields 50 (e.g., only near side shown by the view). Each side
shield 50 is formed out of a patch of sheet-form flexible permanent
magnet material. The side shields 50 provide comparable safety as
the brow guards 40 do against drifting or fluttering grit particles
28, except that the side shields 50 filter out particles which
approach the gap between the frames 14a and the worker's eyes from
a side.
Other advantages of the inventive brow guard 40 and/or side shields
50 include the following. The sheet-form flexible permanent magnet
material 30 can be cut by shears or perhaps heavy scissors. Thus a
worker can modify the brow guard 40 such that an inside edge
(indicated as 44 in the drawings) can be cut in a curve in to more
closely wrap around or conform to the bulge of his or her forehead.
While this is not shown in FIGS. 1 through 9, this is indeed shown
by, for example, FIGS. 11, 12a and 12b. The sheet-form flexible
permanent magnet material 30 clearly shows an inside edge 44' cut
with a curve which would more closely wrap around or conform to the
bulge of the forehead of the wearer. Curving the inside edge 44'
this way minimizes the physical measure of the gap between the
inside edge 44' and the brow of the wearer.
Each worker can personally shape or tailor the inside edge from
straight 44 to shaped 44' to achieve a good if not best "fit" to
his or her own brow, and most likely at least much better than the
straight line edge 44 shown by FIG. 3a. Again, the brow guard 40
can effectively be shaped (see, eg., brow guard 40' of FIGS. 11
through 12b) with scissors or shears to close up or minimize any
gap between the frame 14a, 140a and the forehead.
Moreover, the brow guard 40 is inexpensive and disposable.
Therefore, after heavy use when much grit has accumulated on one, a
given brow guard 40 can simply be discarded in favor for a fresh
replacement. This eliminates the messy procedure of "wiping clean"
any brow guard 40 to reduce its loading.
FIGS. 5 taken with 6 through 8 show various further versions 46-47
of magnetized brow guards and/or side shields for protective
eyewear 10 in accordance with the invention. These further versions
46-48 are formed from a composite material 60, which is best shown
by FIG. 5.
In FIG. 5, the composite material 60 comprises a layer of
sheet-form flexible permanent magnet material 30 bonded to a layer
of a malleable material 64 such as aluminum or the like. Aluminum
has been chosen merely as one suitable material which desirably is
sufficiently malleable to allow deformation by hand and yet retain
the shape in which it is deformed. Many other materials would
suffice for the purposes as aluminum presently does.
FIG. 6 shows a clip-on version 46 of the brow guard incorporating
the composite material 60 shown by FIG. 5. The sheet-form flexible
permanent magnet material 30 is situated as the exposed upper
layer. The malleable (eg., aluminum) layer 64 is situated below.
The brow guard 46 features a lever-actuated nose-bridge clip 66 as
is known in the art of clip-on sunglasses and the like. Preferably
the brow guard 46 is supplied to the end-user thereof in a flat
condition, as shown by FIGS. 5 or 7. The end-user is given the
opportunity to deform and bend the brow guard 46 into the shape he
or she personally desires, such as the gull wing shape shown by
FIG. 6.
FIG. 7 shows an alternate version 47 of a clip-on brow guard which
is formed from the composite material 60 of FIG. 5. The FIG. 7 brow
guard 47 is also shown in a flat condition as preferably sold and
distributed to the ultimate end-user thereof. The end user (eg.,
the ultimate wearer) is expected to bend the brow guard 47 into his
or her personally preferred desired shape. This FIG. 7 version 47
of the brow guard includes a pair of widely spaced clips 68 which
allow removable attachment to the frames 14a (the attachment to
frames 14a not shown, but generally cross-reference to FIGS. 2, 9,
and 12a, 12b) near where the hinges for the temples 12 are (again
refer to FIGS. 2, 9 or 12a and 12b).
FIG. 8 shows another version 48 of a clip-on brow guard for
protective eyewear 10 in accordance with the invention. The FIG. 8
brow guard 48 is comparable to the FIG. 6 brow guard 46 except that
the FIG. 8 version includes opposite left and right enlarged lobes
or turned-down flaps 70. The lobes 70, when bent down from the
plane of the central span 48, are sufficiently disposed to define
side shields. The side shields (e.g., lobes or flaps) 70 thereof
further include rear hooks 72 to loop over the temples 12 (this is
not shown, but generally cross-reference to any of FIGS. 2, 9 or
12a and 12b) of the eyewear. The rear hooks 72 enhance
stability.
Hence, if a user is given a single clip-on brow guard like any of
attachments 40, 40', 46, 47 or 48 or the like, then such a user of
conventional prior art safety spectacles 11,111 can convert the
spectacles 11,111 to protective eyewear 10 in accordance with
invention. This desirably provides grit-filtering magnetic fields
across the eyebrow of the wearer and/or along the lateral sides of
the frames 14. Such clip-on attachments (for example, 40, 40', 46,
47 and 48) are affordable and disposable, and thus are optimum for
scheduled replacement after each reaches the end of its useful life
because of grit-loading or the like.
The foregoing discussion of a magnetized brow guards 40, 40', 46,
47 or 48 as well as side shields 50 and 70 in accordance with the
invention does not expressly describe the brow guards and/or side
shields in any other terms besides that they are predominantly an
after-market add-on for attachment to conventional prior art
spectacles 11 or 111.
On the contrary, however, major objects of the invention can be
achieved even if the brow guards 40, 40', 46, 47 or 48 as well as
side shields 50 and 70 are integrated with the frames 14,114 of the
underlying spectacles 11,111. For example, FIG. 9 shows sheet-form
permanent magnet material 30 permanently attached to the frame
upper member 16 of eyewear 10. This FIG. 9 form of the eyewear 10
and magnetic brow guard 49 eliminates the clip 42,66 shown by other
drawings.
FIGS. 10a through 12b show production of a brow guard 40'. The clip
42 has a pair of pins 43. The sheet-form magnetic material 30 has a
pair of corresponding holes 43' in which the pins 43 are inserted.
The heads of the pins 43 are mushroomed out as shown by FIG. 12b or
12a. In effect, the clip 42 is sort of riveted to the sheet-form
magnetic material 30. Other ways of joining the clip 42 and
sheet-form magnetic material 30 are routinely known and suitable
for the purposes of the present invention.
The invention having been disclosed in connection with the
foregoing variations and examples, additional variations will now
be apparent to persons skilled in the art. The invention is not
intended to be limited to the variations specifically mentioned,
and accordingly reference should be made to the appended claims
rather than the foregoing discussion of preferred examples, to
assess the scope of the invention in which exclusive rights are
claimed.
* * * * *